The country's power regulator, CERC, amended inter-state power transmission rules, widening open access and loosening control of monitoring agencies to ensure smooth flow of power from one state to another. The move is likely to benefit high power consuming states. As per the amendments, the nod of state load dispatch centres (SLDCs) -- the state-run agencies responsible for monitoring generation, transmission and distribution of power in a particular state -- shall be deemed to have been given in case it doesn't respond to a request or proposal within seven working days on first occasion and three days on subsequent occasions.

Also, the SLDCs will have a right to check only the availability of transmission capacity and the metering infrastructure, so that they do not deny the grant of open access based on any other ground, the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission said. "The amendments have been carried out with the objective of streamlining and rationalising the processes involved in obtaining open access," it said.

SLDCs often deny open access to power to transmission utilities of the other states under influence of their own incumbent state distribution utilities.

"Through the amendment, we want open access in power transmission to remain unaffected from the whims and fancies of SLDCs, which many-a-times don't even reply to customers' request for a long time," CERC's secretary Alok Kumar told DNA Money.

The amendment in regulations are expected to benefit the states that need to consume more power than they can generate, including Maharashtra, Karnataka and Punjab, as they would have open access to buying electricity generated in states like Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand, Kumar said.

A lot of other power consumers willing to buy electricity generated in other states, but often denied open access, are also likely to benefit, Girish Solanki, an analyst with Angel Broking said. "Trading companies like Power Trading Corp, Tata Power Trading, Lanco and NTPC Vidyut, which together control about 90% of power trading, will also hugely benefit from the move."

The amendment in regulationsare expected to benefit the states that need to consume more power than they can generate.Trading companies like Power Trading Corp of India, Tata Power, Lanco and NTPC Vidyut also stand to benefit.